Tiskets and Taskets
by Gumi Reloaded
Summary: Old schoolmates, Sekihara Tae and Tokio Takagi get together for just another shopping trip. But certain revelations cause Tae's matchmaking mind to kick into high gear.


Date: Monday, February 6, 2060  
Time: The crack of 11  
Place: In front of Nordstrom, looking fabulous, Simply Sushi, and later on the park  
Characters: Tokio, Tae

**Tae**

Ah what a perfect day. Tae hummed to herself as she looked in the window, shifting to catch her watery reflection as she made sure her hair was in place. It was, of course. Fantabulous. The fluffy coat she wore hid the shirt which was well formed to her curves and if her skirt was just a smidge too short for this chilly weather, at least it was stylish. Plus the shoes. Oh goodness the shoes! They were red like the deepest ruby and if she clicked her heels she'd end up in Hollywood, no doubt about that.

Of course all the brightest stars were in Japan right now. Especially right here. Tae grinned to herself and looked around for Tokio-chan. It was going to be a fairly long lunch break but she would make it up by checking in at one of the Bakufu Burgers tonight, partly to get some paperwork done, partly to scare the workers into excellent service, and to poke her head in and see if she could catch an elusive, if incredibly steamy, police officer.

For the moment, however, girlfriends were all that mattered.

**Tokio**

After the gut wrenching talk with her secretary, and her pondering about her emotional state yesterday, the rest of Tokio's morning had passed uneventfully. After the day she'd had yesterday she was thankful for the relative peace.

Today was her lunch day with Tae. The two had known each other since their school days. It was very nice to have a friend, who knew you so well, in whom you could confide or commiserate with, depending on the situation.

The attorney was treating herself to a two hour break today. Most days she ate at her desk reading through paperwork or writing legal briefs. At least these days no one had to use their hands to type, so Tokio could dictate into her word processor between bites of food. Tokio glanced down at her hands, still enclosed in the medi-burn gloves.

She'd told Oharu to only phone her if there was a real emergency. She was sure she could trust the woman to make a sound judgment as to what actually constituted an emergency, or at least she hoped she could. They'd only been working together for a week, but so far the woman had been both competent and sensible.

Walking briskly to her destination, she was filled with thoughts of yesterday, still incredulous about the feelings that seemed to sprout from nowhere at all. That was sure some scary drug those two jerks had let loose in the diner yesterday.

Looking up she saw her friend standing in front of Nordys. As always, Tae looked like a star in the sky of fashion, shining more brightly that most of the others who traversed the sidewalks.

Waving, Tokio called out enthusiastically, "Hi there Tae. You look fabulous," as always!

**Tae**

Tae turned as her name was called and smiled at the young woman walking toward her. Well, those were some clunky gloves she had on but it was winter and they were probably warm. Tokio had always preferred function over form, the dear thing.

"Good afternoon, my dear," she said, giving Tokio a warm hug. "You look absolutely ravishing." She pulled back and moved to take Tokio's hands when she saw that the clunky gloves were actually medi-burns.

"Goodness!" Tae's hand flew to her mouth. "What happened to you, darling? It must have been horrible!" She'd had one once when she'd inadvertently scalded her hand but to have two, why, Tae couldn't even imagine what must have happened!

**Tokio**

"Nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

…surely Tae had heard about the blood bath at the Sunshine Café yesterday, but perhaps not, since that sort of thing was fairly common in New Meiji, so not very news worthy.

"Did you hear about what happened at the Sunshine Café yesterday?" Maybe news spread around the restaurant business as fast as it spread to the New Meiji DOJ offices.

**Tae**

"No, I didn't hear but it was probably absolutely horrible." And honestly she didn't want to know. The news was a horrible, horrible bugbear of a thing and any mentions of situations at restaurants gave her the heebie jeebies.

"I'm glad you're alright, though, Tokio-chan. It must have been quite a situation." She smiled. Loving her friend but not wanting to have nightmares the entire night through. Why, it was hard enough for a single woman in New Meiji without government protection! And she didn't even have a permit for a firearm.

"You must be up to your eyeteeth in paperwork for it," Tae said, hooking her arm gently through Tokio's as they started through the doors. "I don't know how you stand processing such things day after day!"

**Tokio**

Tokio laughed, "You are so right about the paperwork!" Tokio winced to herself. She had been at that cafe. She was a witness to what happened, and she was a prosecutor. Maybe with this one someone else would have to file the paperwork, and she would just have to give a statement. It would be a conflict of interest to have the witness prosecute the case, that is if they could catch the perpetrator.

"Truthfully, it was pretty bad, and I am going to spare you the gory details, because believe me, the details are very gory." She hoped that she hadn't unsettled her friend too much. She hadn't said anything about all the blood, stabbing, shooting and head rolling.

"My hands were burned when I helped a police officer remove a flak jacket that had over heated." Tokio didn't add that the overheated jacket was a purposeful attempt by the officer to save lives, hers in particular.

"But these medi-burns will be off by tomorrow. Your shoes look fabulous by the way."

**Tae**

Oh her knees went a little weak at the gory details. She simply couldn't help it! To think of Tokio-chan in such a situation. To think of it even happening! Tae steered them toward the elevator, the makeup and perfume were up there, and goodness knows she didn't need more but with her legs threaten to wobble right away from her it was probably a good idea.

"Well you're certainly brave," Tae said as the elevator doors closed. "Police can be so careless sometimes." And she imagined just the sort of officer who would do that sort of foolish thing. True she didn't know much about police work, but she knew enough that a certain someone liked to press his limits and it better not be that someone or she would box him in the ear! Both of them!

Thankfully, thankfully, Tokio switched the conversations to shoes just as the door swooshed open into a land dusted with bright glass counters and filled with the dainty scent of perfume in crystal bottles.

"Aren't they darling? Expensive, of course, but I could not resist. They were calling my name. Oh! By the way my dearest most wonderful and unassuming Tokio-chan, do you know what happens in 8 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and," she checked her cellphone. "15...16 seconds?"

**Tokio**

Tae lead and Tokio followed, right to the elevator. The prosecutor wondered which department was going to be first on her friend's hit list.

Tokio just shook her head and laughed lightly when the elevator doors opened. Her friend could never resist the call of the fragrance department.

The prosecutor was a bit perplexed by the question Tae posed. Had she forgotten something?

"Sorry to say that I don't Tae," she replied to the question, adding to herself that she would bet that she would know real soon.

**Tae**

Oh the poor dear. Really. Tae couldn't blame her. What with the move to New Meiji and knowing absolutely no one except yours truly, well, it was hard and intimidating for just about anyone! And poor Tokio-chan was such a hard worker and had just gone through a traumatic experience besides and was that the new Satoshi Kon fragrance "Millennium"? Goodness, when had it been released?

"Darling it's Valentine's Day," Tae said, picking up the bottle, shaped like a pleated fan, and squirting a bit on her wrist. It had a warm dark flavor. Too secret and sensitive for her but would be wonderful on the quiet Tokio. "Here, try this," she said, handing her friend the bottle.

"I am, of course, holding a chocolate making class on the 13th, free for you my dear. And a little birdie from a certain workplace told me that Hon-san who works in accounting at a certain DOJ wouldn't mind a bit of chocolate from another certain Takagi-san."

**Tokio**

Tokio barely suppressed a groan. Valentine's Day? Taking the offered cut glass bottle from her friend's hand, she gave it a tentative sniff. There was no way she was going to spray this stuff on herself. She wasn't one who drenched herself in perfume, regardless of how much it cost, or how fashionable a fragrance it might be. The young attorney would rather smell like herself, period, whether it was a smell fresh from the shower, or after a long, hard day of working in her mother's garden back in Aizu.

Just *where* was Tae going with this? It didn't take long for Tokio to find out when she heard the mention of a certain DOJ accountant.

What was wrong with her friend's gossip mill source of information?

"Tae-san, sorry to disappoint but Hon-san is no longer on the market."

"Didn't you hear that he started dating one of the girls in the office pool last week?" Even Tokio had heard that, and she'd only been at the DOJ for a week. But the fourth day after she arrived, the place was buzzing with that news.

"However, chocolate making sounds like fun," she replied. That strange feeling from yesterday washed over her. Hadn't that aerosol drug she'd been exposed to at the café worn off yet? There were three, no two, little boys. She shook her head, a perplexed look on her face, when she thought about making some chocolates for *them*.

**Tae**

"Goodness, already? Men do move fast," Tae said, trying not to pout as Tokio merely held the bottle. Honestly, Tokio was a natural beauty but there was nothing like men going crazy over that hidden scent, the one they remember you by. Of course, she had no one to go crazy over and curse that Hon. She had been so sure.

"Oh, I suppose it's just the typical DOJ red tape," Tae said with a laugh because it was fairly funny. "You know it takes forever to get things through. If Saitoh-san hasn't groused about it once...well only once...and I'm not sure if I was supposed to hear it, actually. Have you met him yet?" Tae picked up another bottle and examined it. Sniffed. No no. Perfectly wrong.

"He's got a good reputation and a fairly evil glower. Of course I don't know how much the DOJ and the police interact. I expect they do but you know law is not really my..." she flicked her hand. "Thing."

"I plan to make him chocolate this year. Of course it's just an excuse for his boys to eat it. Otherwise he'd melt the floor under my feet. And," she laughed. "I just have to sort of leave it there on the counter and he pretends it doesn't exist. Such pride the man has. And stubbornness... But forgive, me, dear, I'm babbling. Is there anyone _you_ have your eye on?" She said, fixing said beady and very interested eye on her friend.

**Tokio**

Tokio listened to her friend's chatter, nodding politely. She loved Tae like a sister, but knew the woman loved to talk, and usually gave her ample opportunity to do so. Tokio began picking up small bottles of perfume, giving each a light sniff. So many people had taken a sample spray that the residue left on the outside of the container was usually enough to get the idea of what the stuff smelled like.

One container in particular caught her eye. The cut glass bottle was triangular in shape, colored a milky white on one side and asagi blue on the other. She spritzed a little on the inside of one of her wrists, and took a sniff. The strange thing, though, was the fragrance itself. It was definitely that of sakura blossoms. Shouldn't that be in a pink bottle, she asked herself? Something struck her about the smell. It was a faint memory of long ago; it was almost a 'once upon a time' feeling. Tokio had no idea what compelled her to indicate to the clerk behind the counter that she would take one of these.

Tokio's attention was immediately refocused when she heard the word, Saitoh. Tae knew the man? She did own a chain of themed restaurants, and he did have boys. It shouldn't be surprising if he was one of her customers, but it was. Although the revelation unsettled her, she didn't show it. Then Tae asked Tokio, _"Have you met him yet?"_

Well, if you could call holding his bare, burned back tightly to your sports bra clad chest, then yes, she *did* know him. But if you mean 'have you been introduced to him', the answer was an emphatic, 'no'.

Taking in a breath, Tokio knew that Tae was going to be on a 'need to know' basis on this one, and Tae really didn't 'need to know' everything, especially since Tokio hadn't even figured out why she had been on such an emotional roller coaster when she was close to him.

"I don't know if you can say that I actually met him, but he was one of the officers at the café yesterday," the attorney responded with a very vague, but safe answer.

She had no idea why she felt a heaviness in her chest when Tae revealed that she was making chocolates for the man and his sons, his three, no two, little motherless boys. Was Tae interested in this man whom Tokio had protected and had been protected by him in turn? Tokio felt an unnatural possessiveness about the officer and his small family.

The attorney listened intently, drinking in each word the restaurateur said about the captain. Somehow, Tae's description was familiar. Why did she know those things about him, when they'd only exchanged a few words yesterday?

Then her friend posed a gut kicking question. Was there ever going to be someone in her life?

"No Tae," she replied with just a hint of sadness in her voice, "I don't have my eye on anyone at the moment." Nor will I ever have my eye on anyone. Life in New Meiji is much too risky to even entertain the fantasy of having a husband and children. That, and my job is far too dangerous. I have no desire to leave children motherless, as had Yaso-san.

**Tae**

Tae noticed the shift in Tokio-chan's tone and saw how she was clutching the blue and white bottle. Something had happened, or was happening. Tae peered at her friend, what was going on in that secret mysterious head of hers. When they had been younger, Tae had always tried her best to pry the secrets from that pretty little head, but Tokio had always been resilient.

And these days, perhaps it was better to keep secrets. Goodness knew that Tae had quite enough of her own. She wrapped an arm around Tokio's shoulders and squeezed.

"That will be perfect for you," she said, tapping the bottle. She could faintly smell it like a warm ghost from her friend's wrist.

"Let's get it and check out the spring dresses before my feet carry me to the makeup counter. There has been some Kamann Gold Glitter eye shadow that I've been trying not to buy. It's so expensive. They use real gold flakes, they say, though it's really only manufactured and once a man gets close enough to check it's too late for them anyway." She laughed lightly.

**Tokio**

As Tokio paid the clerk for the perfume (turned out it was called Meiji Memories), she breathed a silent sigh of relief. Tae did not even acknowledge her admission that she had 'run into' Captain Saitoh at the Sunshine yesterday. Tokio wondered if she should read something into that. Was Tae pursuing the broad-shouldered officer? It had been three years since his wife's death, so the period of mourning -at least the socially acceptable one- would be over. But Tokio had a feeling that a man like Saitoh would grieve over a loss like that for more than three years.

Tae hadn't even commiserated with her about not having her eye on someone. Must be something up with Tae, Tokio reasoned.

Tokio's friend retreated to more cheery conversation about make-up and dresses. As usual, on these shopping trips, Tae led and Tokio was content to follow. It was a wonderful break from everything she had to face at work.

**Tae**

They were on the elevator going back down to where the spring dresses were, even though it wasn't nearly Spring yet- but it had better hurry up! Tae was just dying in winter. It was absolutely horrid. When the rest of Tokio's words mixed in with Tae's brain. Oh, so she _had_met Mr. Duty with a Nice Seat himself. What had she thought of him? Had she said anything? Tae couldn't remember other than meeting him at the Sunshine Cafe, which was a situation Tae wanted to stay away from as far as possible.

Pity they had met in such horrid circumstances. Tae couldn't even bring it up without fear of triggering something. Maybe if she could ease him into the conversation and judge Tokio-chan's reactions. After all, whatever had happened there, surely Saitoh-san had played a good part in it. Why, he was practically a hero to anyone who knew him. Tae had been tempted more than once about suggesting he wear tights only she had never been keen on getting her hair curled by the force of a glare.

"Goodness, but I need this shopping trip. Tonight is going to be just hectic." The elevator stopped and Tae hooked her arm through Tokio's, taking them to where the spring dresses hung, frothy and light and fun. "You should come into the Bakufu Burger sometime. I'll give you a discount of course, my dear." She gave her a wink. Obviously Tokio would not have to pay one red cent.

"And perhaps you might have yet another Saitoh-san sighting, and isn't he a sight for sore eyes? One of these days someone is just going to snatch him up!" Tae said, eyeing Tokio carefully.

Of course, Saitoh-san wasn't at all on board with getting snatched but Tae would make the net herself if she had to. Why, she'd even hold him down. For his own sake. For the boys. For Ysao-san. Tae was a woman on a mission.

**Tokio**

Tokio figured that she could use a new spring dress, too. Perhaps she could find one that was light blue with white trim. Yes, thin white piping around the neckline and the edge of the sleeves, with a white belt.

She raised her brow at Tae's comment about that evening, wondering what was going on. "So what's up this evening, Tae-san?"

Whenever Tokio had the craving for a juicy burger loaded with all the extras, she always made it a point to head to Bakufu. There was something familiar about that place, and it had nothing to do with the food or Tae. Sometimes it was a sad familiarity, feelings of past struggles and joys mixed together.

A Saitoh sighting? Now that made the attorney curious. Well, he did have children, and Tae's place did have the kid-magnet sorts of appointments, such a ball pit, if she remembered correctly. Actually, she couldn't forget getting bonked on the head by a ball that escaped through the entrance way in the net.

"I take it that Captain Saitoh is a customer of yours?"

**Tae**

"Oh work," Tae said, carelessly. Unimportant work which was not quite as important as Tokio's reaction. Especially since she didn't seem too disturbed at all by the incident, whatever it may have been, and mentioned Saitoh-san's name lightly as if she was dying for information. Or, at least, that was exactly like Tae would hope to have sounded if she were in the same position.

"He is. I've known him for...oh about seven years or so. I met him when...well when Ysao-san..." Tae tucked a few strands of hair over her ear and held up a dress as if she was inspecting the pattern. This was always so hard. And so frightening.

"Back when she was pregnant with Tsutomu. I do believe the woman wanted more pickles than burger." Tae laughed softly. "And then... well I suppose she had too many pickles because two bites and her water broke right there. I thought Saitoh-san would pass out." Tae smiled a little and stroked the dress.

"He misses her so much. I can tell. It's always so hard when..." but that was going too far. Saying too much. Tae pressed her lips closed and smiled at Tokio-chan. "Well...let's just say that...it's been hard. But he's a really nice man. A good man."

**Tokio**

Tokio just nodded to Tae when the woman confessed that 'tonight' just had to do with work. It would have been great if her friend had something fun to do in the evenings, at least some of the time. In Tokio's opinion Tae spent far too much time at work.

The attorney had no idea that her simple question about the captain would result in Tae spilling the man's life story. Tokio had heard the worst of it that morning from her secretary, but she was getting a bit uncomfortable hearing the personal details of the man's late wife.

The prosecutor had a distinct impression that the man would not be happy to have such details revealed to a stranger, and Tokio was a stranger to him, wasn't she? There was a stab in her heart as Tae speculated how much the man missed his late wife. Details of the circumstances of Yaso's unfortunate death imposed in Tokio's mind, sending a chill down her spine. That was the reason that she would never, ever have a family. Any children and husband of hers would surely be on somebody's hit list, whether it be a crime syndicate's or that of a corrupt branch of the government.

The young prosecutor was relieved when Tae appeared to realize that she was going too far, giving too much private information away.

All the attorney did was nod in response to her friend's statement that Captain Saitoh was a good man. That was something that Tokio already knew, and strangely *had* known from the minute he'd first protectively covered her body with his to keep the gunfire away.

**Tae**

Goodness, but she was just babbling on and on with poor Tokio-chan acting like a bobble-head doll. And about depressing things besides! And, Saitoh-san would assuredly glare her into the afterlife for telling these things to a random stranger. Not that Tokio-chan was at all random or even very strange.

Well no more! She was going to make this event cheery and bright! A pre-celebration of Valentines Day and a pre- pre celebration of Spring Time! Oh, glorious Spring.

"Anyway, we must find the perfect outfits for when the weather gets warmer. I'm hosting a soiree at the Akabeko for Yamanaka Katsutoshi. He practically owns the fashion world and there are rumors that he's related to the royal family. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I bet he tells all the girls that the pompous idiot. Oh!"

She paused as she saw the perfect dress. It was just Tokio-chan's size, or near enough to it, anyway, and just gorgeous. She picked it out and held it against her friend.

"This one is you, darling. You should try it on! You'll be dazzling! Absolutely stunning! I'm inviting you to the soiree, of course, so you must look your absolute tippy top best!"

**Tokio**

Hosting an event for Yamanaka Katsutoshi? No wonder her friend was so excited about this shopping trip. An event like that *did* call for a new dress for Tae. Tokio assumed that she would be on the guest list, too, the minute Tae mentioned the party, and now that it was confirmed, she'd better do some serious looking at what was on the racks, especially when her friend was around to help her vet the possibilities.

Tae held up a dress. Oh. That one was very pretty, but didn't it show way a bit too much shoulder?

"That one does look very nice," Tokio replied, taking the dress from her friend's hands, giving it the 'once over' to make sure that there were no ripped seams, no snags in the cloth, and a functional zipper. "But I'm not sure that I am brave enough to wear something that shows that much shoulder," because if I do, I will feel like I am exposing myself.

"Did I hear you right, Tae-san? Did you say you were hosting a party for Yamanaka Katsutoshi?" There had to be more to *this* story, Tokio just knew it.

She gave her friend a questioning look, raised her eye brows and said, "Okay. Spill it..."

**Tae**

"Are you sure? This dress would look stunning on you. What's a little shoulder? Afraid of the wolves it will attract?" she wiggled her eyebrows at her friend but put the dress back. After all, she wasn't one to force embarrassing dresses on friends no matter how smashing they looked in it. She continued to sort through the rack trying to find the perfect fit.

"I'm surprised I didn't tell you. Well we've both been so busy, haven't we? But Yamanaka-san is putting out a new line this spring, have you heard? It's called the Fresh New Old Japan, or something ridiculous like that. And he wants an authentic setting to showcase his gowns and impress his guests and you know, my little old restaurant." She put a hand to her chest and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Why, it simply is perfect for what he wants! I may have e-mailed him about it for a month before. What about this one, dear?" She said, holding up the light blue dress.

"I know it's sleeveless but with this style, why, it would look perfectly natural with a little jacket to go over it and no one would think any less of you. Besides, blue seems to suit you somehow."

**Tokio**

Tokio tried not to give her good friend an exasperated look. "I am not afraid of wolves, Tae-san. They've been extinct in Japan for a very long time."

If Tokio had been a clothes horse, she would have swooned at the mention of that particular designer's name. She wasn't, so she didn't. But she was extraordinarily happy for her friend. Tae deserved to have some good publicity for her Bakufu Burger restaurants and the Akabeko. Tokio would attend this affair even just for curiosity's sake. A designer debuting a new line of fashions called 'Fresh New Old Japan' in a Bakumatsu themed venue sounded like something not to be missed. In fact if the outfits were more in the vein of 'Old Japan,' Tokio was sure there would be something that she would like. She did want to get a new kimono for Tanabata matsuri this year.

The attorney had to stifle the urge to roll her eyes at Tae's next selection. "Oh, that *is* the color I like, but…." It's strapless…what will hold it up? And the front is so far above the knees that Tokio thought it bordered on indecent.

When Tokio realized that she would have to take matters in her own hands, if she was going to find a new dress, she started looking through the racks of dresses herself with determination. Finally one of them caught her eye. "How about this one, Tae-san?" she asked, holding it up so her friend could see.

This one wasn't strapless, covered up the front, and would just brush the top of her knees. It would show her shoulder blades, but that was much better than exposing her front. Plus it was her favorite color.

**Tae**

Did Yokohama not have male wolves that howled at every pretty lady passing? Perhaps not. Which was a pity, they probably needed more. It was obvious Tokio did not care for the dress even if it was fresh and dazzling. Still, she knew what she wanted-which was evident as she decided to dive through the racks herself. Tae put the dress back and concentrated on something for her own self. Something fantastic! Dazzling! But not too dazzling. She needed to shine but be demure enough to show that she was serious. Yet, she also needed to stand out.

She looked at the choice Tokio had made. Well she certainly did know her own mind and it would look absolutely fantastic on her, of that Tae had no doubt!

"Oh, it's stunning, my dear! Absolutely beautiful. Why, I have a necklace that would go well with that. I'll have to show it to you some time. Now to find a dress for me and we'll go try things on." It didn't take her long until she found it.

"Oh, goodness yes. What do you think, darling? Is it me?"

**Tokio**

Tokio respected Tae's opinion about clothing. The woman knew her stuff. Although the attorney was sure that her friend wouldn't have chosen this one for herself, Tokio knew that Tae would give her honest opinion about whether or not it would be suitable for her friend.

"Thanks, Tae-san, I think I'll buy it." The prosecutor then subjected the frock to as thorough an examination as she would have given any witness on the stand. It looked fine, no missing stitches, no runs in the fabric, and the zipper did its job.

"Thanks for the offer to use the necklace. Next time I'm at your place, I'll have to check it out."

Carefully draping the dress over her arm, the attorney watched her friend continue sorting through the dresses on the rack, until the woman came to one, and held it up so Tokio could see.

Tokio had to admit it, "Tae, *that* one is stunning!" And perfect for someone who would be hostess for the evening. It was bold, beautiful and made a statement…and said 'look at me'. Tae deserved to be noticed, she worked so hard and cared about others.

**Tae**

"Isn't it?" Tae said. "Almost half as stunning as we are!" and she winked at her friend. "Come on; let's go try this on before we whittle away our breaks. Oh, and then we must go for shoes... or not go for shoes. No staying away from shoes is a good idea. My closet is full to the brim. I suppose you could say it has sole." She laughed and chattered lightly as they went to the dressing rooms.

"Seriously, though, darling," Tae said, once they were a dressing room apart. "Have you ever thought of getting a very special someone? Not just for Valentine's Day but you know... I mean there are plenty of fish in this New Meiji scene and some of them are quite handsome." Even if they were frankly terrifying, but Tae had the strange feeling that Tokio-chan could handle it. Even, bless her, like that kind of thing!

**Tokio**

Tokio laughed. Her friend always said the most amusing things. Tae was very attractive. Tokio knew she wasn't. But she was willing to go along with the fun.

Gently hugging her blue dress to her, the prosecutor nodded in agreement to her friend's suggestion that they try on their selections.

"After looking at the price tag on this dress," confessed Tokio, "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the shoes, too. I'm still trying to get my new apartment set up." Tokio thought of her broken tea ware. The movers were insured, but she was sure it would be like pulling teeth to get them to pay the full cost of replacing the items they broke. So, she would have to pay for replacing broken items out of her own pocket, unless she wanted to wait and do it after the insurance money arrived.

Tae's quip about her closet having 'sole' elicited another gentle laugh from the attorney.

"Of course I've thought about the possibility of having a special someone, doesn't every girl," Tokio let out wistfully.

She didn't notice anyone in the changing rooms when they'd come in, so she figured she could speak candidly. "Tae-san, you know that my job is too time consuming dangerous to have time for liaisons with the opposite sex." Tokio enjoyed dating, but she never seemed to get past the 'let's be friends' stage. She really couldn't explain what always held her back. It was almost as though some force was pulling her backwards into the past. She liked guys…a lot, but she really couldn't see herself attached permanently to any she'd dated so far. Sometimes she even asked herself who what she was waiting for.

"What about you, my friend…" Tokio didn't need to finish. It was understood that she was asking the same thing.

**Tae**

Don't worry; I think you have shoes to go with that. Or, at least the last time I looked," Tae said, sitting down and sliding out of her heels, taking a deep breath as she wiggled her toes. The shoes were fantastic, but the relief at taking them off for even a few moments was even better. "Do you still have those darling little kitten heeled black ballet shoes? Those would look absolutely adorable."

She started to unbutton her shirt, listening to Tokio's wistful voice from over the wall. That was it. She was interested, but didn't have enough time? Well! If Saitoh-san had the time to find Ysao-san, than Tokio certainly had more than enough time... Oh... Tae froze, grinning at her reflection in the mirror. Well wasn't that just perfect? Of course she'd considered it before-but now the idea- why, it was just dazzling. Tokio-chan and Saitoh-san! They would be the most adorable couple, hands down. They even looked good together. She could almost see it in her mind's eye and made a memo to herself to do a photomanip later.

"Me?" Tae said, taking a moment to step into the dress. Ah, nearly a perfect fit, maybe a size or two down. Hmm. She wasn't entirely sure. "Oh darling I don't-" have time, she was going to say, but goodness, how bad would that look? "-have any real interest in anyone at the moment. After all, I'm only 24" for the fifth year running. "I have plenty of time!"

**Tokio**

"Oh, thanks, I'd forgotten about those shoes. I haven't unpacked all of my boxes yet." I should have remembered those shoes, Tokio scolded herself, I've been in town for 4 weeks and I only live in an apartment, so I have no excuse for not settling in properly by now. Except for all of those files my brother was thoughtful enough to send with me (and expect me to read) so I wouldn't get bored on my three week vacation before starting my new job in the New Meiji branch of the DOJ.

As Tokio talked with Tae, she changed into the blue dress. Looking in the mirror, she sighed. The dress was beautiful and it fit the contours of her body perfectly, but except for Tae's party, she really had no place to wear it. For a moment she fantasized wearing it to the opening of a new gallery show, perhaps one featuring pottery, perhaps on the arm of a dashingly, gorgeous potter. When it came to men, she wasn't a bold woman, so she knew there would be no hope to even keep company with the man even on a platonic basis.

Tokio felt a pang of sadness at her friend's admission that at the moment there was no one she was interested in. Both of them were in the same boat, man-wise. She couldn't help but laugh at Tae's comment that she was 25 years old 4 years running. She loved her friend's sense of humor. The woman was so upbeat, at least as far as outer appearances. Living in Yokohama, Tokio hadn't spent as much time hanging out with Tae as she had when they were younger. Now that they both lived in the same town, Tokio hoped that would change.

**Tae**

Tae swooped the matching shawl over her bare shoulders. There. Perfect. It was a nice dress whether she wanted to be serene and the perfect, elegant hostess. And if she wanted to get a little saucy, well, a little dip in the shawl to expose bare shoulder blades should do the trick.

"Moment of truth, Tokio-chan," Tae said, stepping into her wonderful new shoes and clicking her way from the dressing room. Tokio joined but a moment later and Tae couldn't help but smile.

"Oh darling you look ravishing!" Tae said, putting her hand on Tokio's shoulders briefly before tugging at the dress just a tiny bit, straightening a hem here, brushing off a little bit of thread there.

"This is stunning. Yes. Those heels would go well. Oh and of course I'll have to do your makeup and we'll do your hair at this darling little salon." Tae slipped behind Tokio and twisted her hair up into a sort of messy bun.

"What do you think? Up or down?" and here she let Tokio's hair fall about her shoulders.

**Tokio**

Tae met Tokio outside of their respective dressing rooms, gushing about how the prosecutor looked, while she proceeded to make adjustments to the attorney's dress, tugging a little fabric here, and tugging a little fabric there.

Tokio thought Tae looked so elegant in the dress she was wearing, as the woman fussed around her, like an older sister primping her younger sibling for her first date.

"Tae, that dress looks spectacular on you. You are going to be the most fetching eye candy in the room if you wear that number to the party," the attorney said as a way of encouragement.

Tokio smiled brightly at her friend, appreciating the camaraderie the two of them shared. There was truly nothing like shopping with a good friend. They would never steer you wrong, always ready to tell you the truth about whatever threads you were considering for purchase.

"Yes, I like this," Tokio admitted. "I'm going to buy it. I feel like I need something new in my life," or someone new, whispered that little voice that Tokio had been hearing since the diner incident yesterday.

"How about you, are you going to buy that one," Tokio asked as Tae stood behind her, holding the attorney's hair up to see how it would look off her shoulders, asking her whether she wanted to wear it up or down.

"Well, if there were a man in my life, and mind you there isn't, I would wear it down so he could run it through his fingers," The attorney confessed, feeling quite scandalous at the admission.

"But since there *is* no man in my life," and never will be she said to herself before continuing, "I will wear it up. That way if it is too crowded and hot in the room, at least my neck won't sweat," the attorney finished with a hearty laugh.

Tokio paused; a moment of sadness flickering through her body, because she knew there would never, ever be someone special for her because she refused to endanger anyone due to her job.

**Tae**

"Eye candy? Darling, I don't plan to be eye candy. No, people will be there to look at the couture and each other, and of course the restaurant-and if they happen to spot little old me, well, they'll certainly have something" completely dazzling "nice to look at. I think I will buy this dress, though and I am so glad to hear you are buying yours. Why, you're absolutely stunning! No one will be able to resist."

And no cop for that matter.

Now if only she could think up the ultimate, foolproof plan, to rope Saitoh-san into a blind date. The man was terrifying, to be sure, but he had to have a weakness, goodness knows.

"We'll do your hair up, then, dear." Because even if she had a man, hair that was up could be bought down by the careful removal of hairpins by large gentle fingers. And there was nothing like the feeling of your hair slowly coming loose and falling around your shoulders.

But...well that was all day dreams now.

"Ah well. We'd better shake our tails if we want to have any time to eat in the park. I'm glad we came here, though."

**Tokio**

Tokio just smirked at Tae's comments about not being at the party to be seen. Yeah, right, and New Meiji is the safest city in the country, thought the prosecutor. Then her friend let it slip that if she *was noticed*, she would be dressed to be dazzling. Now that sounded more like the Tae that Tokio knew and loved.

_"Ah well. We'd better shake our tails if we want to have any time to eat in the park. I'm glad we came here, though."_

"I'm glad we came, too. I never would have found this wonderful dress, or this perfume," Tokio replied, knowing that the frock she intended to buy would only see the light of day, or night depending on the case, at Tae's party.

As for her other purchase, the fragrance of sakura…Meiji Moments - if she remembered correctly, she had no clue why she was motivated to buy it. It wasn't like she was used to wearing perfume every day, because she wasn't. But she would be cherry blossom smelly today, that was for sure, since she did put some on the inside of one of her wrists to test it. Maybe it was the triangular shaped blue and white bottle that attracted her attention; it seemed to remind her of something that she couldn't quite pinpoint.

"But you are right, we'd better get going, or we'll have to skip lunch. I can't justify being away from the office for too long, even though I did go into work two hours early this morning."

The attorney really didn't want to dwell on why she'd gotten to the office so early, either. It was sure to both spoil the pleasant time she was having shopping with Tae, and give her indigestion even before eating one bite of lunch. It had to do with that business at the Sunshine Café. The police had managed to let her slip out yesterday to lick her wounds, but they insisted she be at New Meiji Police Department Investigations at the crack of dawn to give her version of what happened in the diner.

She wondered how Cop-san was doing today. He was pretty banged up the last time she saw him. She was sure she would find out, as later in the day she planned to return the small side arm he'd pressed into her hands during the fracas. Speaking of which, it was currently secured in the shoulder holster under her blouse, oddly making her feel like he was still with her in some small way.

It didn't take the women long to make their purchases, once they decided to buy the dresses. Soon they were stepping off the elevator and heading for the exit out of Nordstrom's and onto the street, thinking about hot sushi chefs what to have for lunch.


End file.
